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VANCOUVER—A crew of 24 women from around the world set sail Monday from Hawaii on a scientific research mission to investigate the health effects of plastics and toxins in the world’s oceans.

The women will navigate to the densest ocean plastic accumulation zone on the planet, the North Pacific Gyre, home to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s a collection of marine debris in which 79,000 tonnes of ocean plastic, mostly in small pieces, are floating in an area of 1.6 million square kilometres, according to a March 2018 report in the journal Nature.

eXXpedition voyagers, who are all-female all the time, test plastics on board the ship on their last trip to the British Isles and the Caribbean. (Agathe Bernard / eXXpedition)

An eXXpedition team meets to debrief and prepare for setting sail. The issue of plastics in the oceans is a global one. One estimate says by 2050, there will be as much plastic in ocean waters as fish. (eXXpedition)

The group will journey more than 3,000 nautical miles split between two legs, according to a news release.

Ocean advocate, photographer and graphic designer Nikkey Ward, a Squamish resident, will join the second stretch, from Vancouver to Seattle, in hopes of championing innovative research to tackle the global crisis.

“We can’t really afford to wait,” she said in an interview. “Through freediving ... you see how much trash is under our most popular piers and off the beaches.”

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Ward said it’s not hard to see how marine life and birds end up ingesting and sometimes dying from it.

But the challenge is battling a sense of defeat, she continued, and getting countries “on the same page.”

“There is no viable and funded way yet to remove microplastics from the ocean. ... It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the problem,” she said. “Microplastics know no borders. ... A single country’s bad practices can reach far beyond their own population.”

Just because one country regulates does not necessarily mean environmental improvement, since plastics wash up along all shores to pollute waterways, Ward said.

And there’s still very little known about the long-term health effects. A report cited by the World Economic Forum estimates there will be as much plastic in the ocean as fish by 2050.

The British company eXXpedition, which specializes in all-women voyages, is behind the trip, dubbed North Pacific 2018. The group, which is on its 10th voyage, is endorsed by the United Nations Environment Clean Seas initiative.

Emily Penn, the mission leader and co-founder of eXXpedition, was awarded the British prime minister’s Points of Light award last month, recognizing her ocean advocacy.

“Scientists still want to know how much plastic is out there and where it is, but they also want to know which toxic chemicals are on the surface of it, whether organisms are growing on it and what the impacts might be on wildlife and on us,” Penn said.

eXXpedition voyagers test plastics on board the ship on their last trip to the British Isles and the Caribbean. (eXXpedition/ Agathe Bernard)

By conducting daily trawls for plastics and related pollutants, the team will collect data to support scientists around the world, including Ocean Wise Canada, whose samples taken off the B.C. coast this year contained up to 25,000 plastic particles and fibres in one cubic metre of water.

These studies will range in focus from understanding the effect of toxins carried on plastic to our bodies, to examining the impact on ecosystems, such as sea turtle habitats.

But what makes Ward most “nervous” is the bio-testing on themselves.

“We’re going to find out how much toxins are in our systems, like mercury,” she explained. “I’m also nervous about what we will find in the ocean and how big the problem is.”

All costs are covered by crew members and sponsors, such as Norwegian recycling company Tomra, Copernicus Marine Service and Port of Vancouver, the eXXpedition release said.

Plastics in the ocean aren’t just bottles. They can come from clothing, fishing gear, laundry, food items or packaging. (Agathe Bernard/ eXXpedition)

Ward raised roughly $3,000 by selling illustrations she made of each one of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales that live off Vancouver’s coast. She also received donations from individuals and small businesses, who donate “just because they care about this research,” she said.

Greater accountability from people, businesses and governments is needed, she said.

“We need to act now instead of waiting for regulations to come down, forcing changes,” Ward explained. “I’d also love to see more global thinking from people caring that our plastic-dependent lifestyles affect the health of others beyond our own doors.”

Of the 86 women who have sailed on eXXpedition missions, many have gone on to organize plastic-free community projects, implement plastic policies, campaign for better legislation and create inspiring artwork, the release noted.

The eXXpedition crew will be sailing a 22-metre vessel from Hawaii to Vancouver from June 25 to July 14, and then from Vancouver to Seattle from July 21 to 28. Every five to seven days during the voyage, dispatches will be posted online, including film, photos and narratives.

Melanie Green is a Vancouver-based reporter covering food culture and policy. Follow her on Twitter: @mdgmedia

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